Audio annunciators of various kinds are known in the art. Examples include door bells and door chimes (wherein door bells typically refer to an annunciator that produces a sound by mechanical means and wherein door chimes typically refer to an annunciator that produces a sound by electrical means), alarms (such as fire alarms, smoke alarms, or intrusion alarms), and so forth.
In many cases these audio annunciators comprise a housing that is configured to be operationally mounted to a wall. This housing typically contains the sound-producing mechanism of choice and may also house other components such as a power supply, a user interface (to facilitate, for example, selecting from amongst a plurality of available annunciation sounds), and so forth.
For a variety of reasons such a housing often works in conjunction with a removable cover. In some cases the removable cover eases the task of installing the housing on the wall. In other cases the removable cover makes it possible for the user to access a user interface from time to time. In yet other cases the removable cover paradigm makes it possible for the user to select from amongst a plurality of available cover options to best suit their corresponding aesthetic needs.
Annunciator designers are therefore faced with a variety of utilitarian and aesthetic design requirements in these regards, many of which tend to be contrary to one another. The market for such products tends to be highly competitive and therefore such designs are highly cost sensitive. The cover should also tend to remain in place during use; many simple cover designs are readily subject to dislodging during simple and non-aggressive housecleaning activities. Other cover designs involve considerable effort, time, and/or tools to facilitate the removal and installation process. Such obstacles can greatly frustrate the end user and can discourage the user from such an activity. This, in turn, can deny the user from receiving the benefits associated with a removable cover.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.